A new survey has found that your teenagers may be the worst backseat drivers. Anyone who drives knows that there are always people out there who are “back-seat” drivers. They like to make sure the driver knows where they are going, how they should drive, and what they should not be doing. This is enough to irk anyone who is actually behind the wheel. It can be even worse for a mother who already feels like a chauffeur to her children, and then she has to deal with her kids in the back telling her how to drive. Someone who either doesn’t drive at all yet or only just started out behind the wheel.
According to Study Finds, mom may not like it, but her teenagers may be the worst at backseat driving. This may indicate to mom that they may need to enforce some driving rules when they are in the car with their children.
The poll was completed by OnePoll, and was commissioned by Smith Micro Software. It involved 2,000 parents who had teenagers, and 3 in 10 said that their teen is the family’s biggest backseat driver, even worse than their spouse. In fact, only 23% said that their spouse/partner was the worst.
The survey also looked at the stress that is added to the actual driver of the car when someone in the backseat is dictating what they should be doing when they are driving. Showing that it can have an impact on the driver’s mental health and ability to safely drive their car. When it comes to backseat driver behavior:
•49% of it involves telling a person when they should turn
•37% is complaining about driving too slowly
•36% involve “white-knuckling” the dashboard
It also revealed some concerns parents have about their children behind the wheel, as teenagers are just getting their driver’s license and will be hitting the road on their own.
•The biggest concern parents had was distracted driving
•7 in 10 parents believe that their children are part of a generation that is going to be involved in more distracted driving accidents
•Four in ten parents stated that their teenagers had already been involved in a distracted driving incident
This is concerning but credited to the use of smartphones. Parents expressed interest in a mobile app that could help them “track” their child’s driving. They also believed that this sort of app would be helpful in teaching their children about being safe on the road.
Sources: Study Finds, OnePoll, Smith Micro Software